How I Came to Love Harry Potter

I was never a fan of Harry Potter.

Yes, I know. Shocker, right? Truth be told, I never got the hype. I didn't understand why people would line up in front of bookstores just to get the first copy of the next Harry Potter book. Or even line up in front of movie theaters to be the first to watch the next film. Why the heck would people do that? I didn't understand. At all. It was just a normal book to me.

At this time, I only had one Harry Potter book: The Chamber of Secrets. I know many people would think it random that I only had the second book, not the first. But that's the book that appealed to me most when I went to the bookstore. I had heard many things about Harry Potter and decided I wanted a little dose of it. When I saw the bookshelf dedicated to Harry Potter, the first one, The Philosopher's Stone, didn't look as appealing to the one next to it. And as for the rest in the series, they just looked too fat for little eight-year-old me. So I picked up the second one and asked my father to buy it. He did. And I liked the story. Just liked it. Nothing else. I didn't want to buy the rest in the Harry Potter series. I had no reason to. It was just an okay book that I could read if I had nothing else to read.

Fast forward seven years when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two came out. Well, it's the last one. Why not go see it? I thought. That day, my family moved houses so it was pretty hectic at home. So when a teacher of mine proposed that we go watch Harry Potter. I said yes. I watched it and found it a slightly better movie than the few others I had watched.

Then I came home. I lay in my bed, waiting for sleep after a tiring day. But the sleep wouldn't come. That's nothing strange, though. I often have a hard time sleeping. However, this time it was different. There was something very emotional stirring up in me. OMG... I was going to cry. True to my prediction, I started bawling my eyes out. It was like someone close to me had died. I have NOT cried that much before. For hours, I cried like crazy.

I just couldn't stop. Grief had overwhelmed me. And I knew exactly why. Because of Harry Potter. It was over now.

You might think it's strange for someone with such a little interest in the magical world of Harry Potter be so emotional towards it. I guess it is weird, but it is possible. Because even though I had so little interest in Harry Potter, I had grown up with him.

No more Harry Potter movies. No more Harry Potter books... It was over. I hadn't realized how big of an impact Harry Potter had in my life. I hadn't realized how much Harry Potter was—and is—a part of me, no matter how much I had ignored it. And it felt like that part of me was being wrenched out with that last movie. I was half dead.

The next day, I asked my Dad if he could take me to the bookstore. Luckily, he had time, so he did. And there, I picked up all the Harry Potter books except the second and fifth. The second, because I already had it. And the fifth, because the bookstore didn't have it. I was so heartbroken because of that one book I couldn't get. I was ready to cry. I managed to keep in my tears, though, and suck it up like a big girl.

Fortunately, the bookstore restocked two weeks later (yes, by this time, I had finished all the books and they were AWESOME) and I finally got the fifth book I wanted.

Now, I get the hype. I understand why people would line up in front of bookstores just to get the first copy of the next Harry Potter book. Or even line up in front of movie theaters to be the first to watch the next film. Why the heck would people do that? Well, I still don't understand. At all. But I do know that if there happened to be a new Harry Potter movie or book, I would be that crazy person to stand hours in front of the bookstore and theater, ready to charge in.

So in the end, it's not how I came to love Harry Potter, but how I found out I loved Harry Potter. But either way, I'm glad I did.

And also:

"I'm not going home, not really." -- Harry Potter

I burst out crying when I read this.


-Barista Mia-

Image: Harry Potter logo